Havdalah

Dancing Together!

The Tel Aviv class has SO MUCH FUN dancing with Nancy on Tuesday! We jumped and flew across the room and had a chance to jump with our friends and teachers in small groups!

 So much laughter and joy!

Sukkot is a joyous time....

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha-olam

asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu

al n'tilat lulav (Amein)

Blessed are you Adonai our God, who instructs us to take up the lulav (Amen)

Rabbi Todd welcomed the Kohavim boys and girls to our Sukkah where we gathered to further explore and experience the lulav and etrog. We learned that there is a special blessing that one says prior to shaking the lulav and etrog. It is very similar to the blessing one says when we light the candles for Shabbat. (There are only two words that are different)It is a mitzvah to gather and invite our family and friends to share in activities in our sukkah.

There are some important guidelines to building a sukkah: we need to see out of it and see the stars. Some boys and girls thought that we could also "see the morning in our sukkah, see the sun in our sukkah, but we see it differently, not like in your house. We decorate our sukkah with things we make or find in nature, like branches and leaves. It is a time in which stop and think about all the good things we have in our lives for which we are thankful.

We spend time in our Sukkah

Experiencing the Lulav and Etrog

A Special Visitor

The Rainbows were happy to have Rabbi Todd come to visit our classroom this morning. Rabbi Todd spoke to us about the upcoming holiday of Chanukah. The children listened as he told the story of the Jews who were not allowed to go to their temple. We tried to imagine how sad it must have been to be unable to go to temple. Once the Jews were finally able to go back to the temple, they were concerned that they only had enough oil to last for one night. We heard about the miracle that allowed the oil to last eight days when it seemed it was only enough to last for one.

The rabbi explained to us how we can make Chanukah special for our friends and our family members by being helpful, kind, and caring during this holiday of eight days. In this way, each of us can bring joy to others - by putting a bit of extra light in their Chanukah.

As Rabbi Todd counted out the eight days that the oil lasted, he invited the children to come and light a candle in our colorful wooden chanukiah. They were proud to help. Once all of the candles were lit, the children walked Rabbi Todd over to the window where they put the chanukiah so everyone passing by could see the candles burning. We are all looking forward to the Festival of Lights.

An Outdoor Havdalah

Joy

Rachel, Molly, and Max were each holding the puppet of themselves that their parents created for them at Curriculum Night. So excited to be playing with puppets of themselves, they were telling a silly story accompanied by giggling and plenty of happy jumping. I wish you could have been there in the classroom with me. I hope this photo shares a bit of the joy in the room.

Shabbat Shalom HEY!!!

We Love the Shabbat Joy!!!

Shabbat Shalom HEY!!!

We Love the Shabbat Joy!!!

So Much Love!

Wow! What a loving, caring community at TBSCC! Moments like these surround us throughout the day. Playground time that provides time for all the children to play and explore together, the end of day sing-alongs that includes parents as they pick up, the amazing staff who are continually engaged and present with the children - it is truly a pleasure spending time with the TBSCC community. The picture above of Josh on his first day really says it all!

Preparing for Mother's Day!

The Tel Aviv children enjoyed the process of preparing for Mother's Day. First we gave the children a choice to decorate door hangers, or to paint a clay pot with a plant in it for Mom. Everyone, and I do mean everyone wanted to decorate a door hanger. They used jewels and colorful glitter paint. The door hangers came out beautiful; some had swirly lines, a few of the children decided to create patterns, and others decorated theirs with lots of jewels. The children could not wait to give their gift to Mom! The teachers had fun going around to each child asking them questions about their Mother. Their answers were very funny! For example: What does your Mom do? Three children said, "My Mom does dishes." What does your Dad call your Mom? "Honey." We typed up all their answers, attached a few photos and sent it home with their Mother's Day gift.

A VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM US TO ALL OF YOU!

Snow!

"It's snowing!" Alison squealed with joy. But the snow wasn't coming from the sky, it was coming from her own hands. She scooped up handfuls, throwing it high into the sky, and laughing as it landed on her and her playmates, Jayden and Becca. Choruses of "weeee!" could be heard across the playground as more and more snow came falling through the air. For me it was a true pleasure to witness children finding such delight in the simple pleasures of nature. No toys, no special equipment, no instruction. Just 3 children, 3 pairs of warm mittens, and a whole lot of fresh snow.

Snowy delight

Expressions of pure delight filled their faces as three girls plopped down on the freshly fallen slow and began to create the age old childhood classic: snow angels! Jayden giggled first, then it spread to Alison, and finally to Becca, until shared smiles accompanied purposeful movements of their arms and legs. "Ohh, it's cold!" Becca exclaimed. "This is hard!" said Jayden, but the three persevered. Who doesn't remember a similar experience on a snowy day? It is amazing how these classic childhood activities continue to bring the same sense of joy for generations.

Circle Time

Smiling ear to ear the children enthusiastically sang a circle time favorite, patting their laps, then rolling their hands, then raising their hands to the sky as Isaac and Josh demonstrate.  What a pleasure to witness the pure joy as they sang.  Ask your child to show you the live version.

A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam

A rafi, a rafi
Guli guli guli guli guli ram sam sam

Our Little Van Goghs

We are exploring Sunflowers, corn and pumpkins this week. We are having fun comparing the different elements of these three product of nature. We are noting how they are the same and different; exploring their unique shapes; studying which pumpkin has more seeds the big or the small; learning what each of them needs to grow and planting seeds to watch them grow.

The children also expressed their artisic observation skills, by painting a vase of sunflowers.
Their artwork is stunning!

This is a song we learned about farming:

The farmer plants the seeds; the farmer plants the seeds,
Heigh ho the derry o the farmer plants the seeds.
The rain begins to fall; the rain begins to fall
Heigh ho the derry o, the rain begins to fall.
The sun begins to shine; the sun begins to shine,
Heigh ho the derry o, the sun begins to shine.
The roots begin to grow; the roots begin to grow,
Heigh ho the derry o, the roots begin to grow.
The stem begins to grow; the stem begins to grow,
Heigh ho the derry o, the stem begins to grow.
The plant gets bigger, the plant gets bigger,
Heigh ho the derry o, the plant gets bigger.

Who is knocking at the Door???

Shabbat Joy

"Let's sing for Shabbat!" announced Drew as he began to sign with the torah and dance around the room. "Shabbat shalom, hey!" he sang, with infectious enthusiasm. What a treat to see Drew's joy in anticipation of Shabbat. I was struck by the sense of kedushah, holiness, in Drew's actions. "Within Judaism, kedushah is viewed as separate realm; restricted, unique, limited, different, wholly other. Holy times are ones in which various mundane activities are either suspended or imbued with special meaning; holy places are those in which we feel ourselves to be fully present enough to appreciate the unique, the extraordinary, the divine." (Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative) As Drew danced and sang, what could have been a mundane school experience, became a holy one, drawing in others who stopped to notice how joyfully he was welcoming in Shabbat.

I've Got that Shabbat Feeling!!!

"Shabbat Shalom to Mia, " Shabbat Shalom to Drew, Shabbat Shalom to all of our friends".

We celebrated Shabbat outdoors greeting each other and extending blessings and joy.

There were many songs on our CD but this was one of our favorites:

"I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my toes, down in my toes, down in my toes, I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my toes, and it feels soooo good!!!

"I've got that Shabbat feeling up in my fingers, up in my fingers, up in my fingers, and it feels soooo good!!!:

"I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my belly, down in my belly, down in my belly, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"I've got that Shabbat feeling up in my head, up in my head, up in my head, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"I've got that Shabbat feeling deep in my heart, deep in my heart, deep in my heart, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"Shabbat Shalom!!!"